Nearly 40 people were killed in clashes between Chad's security forces and armed raiders who attacked two eastern villages, the government said today.
Communications Minister Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor said the villages of Aradibe and Habile were attacked at the weekend by Janjaweed raiders who burned homes and mutilated their victims.
The victims included 15 Chadian civilians, five Sudanese refugees and eight government soldiers who had their eyes gouged out, he said.